Author's Note: No Christmas one-shot for 2023, unfortunately, but here's a little winter one-shot for ya. :)

Let It Snow

"Mama, can we go outside now?"

"Not yet, Grace," Eva answered, looking up from buttoning her winter coat to address her four-year-old daughter, who sulked at her mother's reply. Eva then frowned, noticing that Grace was still only wearing a long-sleeved shirt and jeans. "Why haven't you gotten dressed?"

"I'm dressed!" Grace insisted.

"For a normal day, you are," Eva said, "but it's snowing today. We all need to be bundled up before we can go outside."

Grace sulked again.

"Eva, where're my gloves?" Neil, who was also wearing a coat, asked from where he stood in front of the dresser, opening and closing drawers.

"First drawer on the left," she replied as their daughter rushed over to him.

"Daddy!" Grace whined over the sound of Neil opening the aforementioned drawer. "I wanna play in the snow!"

"I know you do, Gracie," Neil said, putting on the gloves he'd finally found, "but Mama's right. We gotta make sure you're dressed warmly enough so the snow won't turn you into a popsicle."

"But I won't turn into a popsicle!" Grace exclaimed, scowling. "I'm not cold!"

"Well, of course you're not," Eva said patiently as she fastened her last coat button. "The heater's on."

Grace turned around to face Eva. "The what?" she asked, her annoyance melting away into confusion.

"The heater," Eva repeated. "It's something that makes the house stay warm."

"Oh." And with that monosyllabic response, Grace returned her attention to Neil. "Daddy, can we go outside now?"

Eva watched as Neil's face twitched, knowing he was trying not to laugh at their daughter's one-track mind. "Why don't we get you dressed more first, yeah?" he suggested. "Then we can go outside, I promise."

Grace's shoulders slumped. "Okay," she agreed reluctantly, accepting Eva taking her hand and leading her to her room without any fuss.

Unfortunately, the lack of fuss didn't last.

"Grace, stop squirming," Eva chided as she tried to put little pink snowshoes on the toddler's feet.

Grace—who was now wearing a wooly pink sweater and matching coat over her shirt, purple mittens, and pink earmuffs—was indeed squirming as she sat on her bed. She stopped after hearing her mother's scolding, but another scowl was forming on her face.

"You're taking forever!" Grace complained, not for the first time. "The snow's gonna melt!"

"The snow'll still be there when we're done," Neil told her as he rifled through the clothes hanging in her closet. "Just be patient, princess."

Grace huffed, but nonetheless stayed still long enough for Eva to put the snowshoes on her feet. By the time she was standing again, Neil was stepping over to Eva with a second, white coat in hand.

"An extra coat ought to do it," he said.

"Agreed," Eva replied, taking the coat from her husband and opening it for Grace to slip into.

"Mama!" Grace cried, waving her arms in protest. "I don't need another coat!"

"But it will help keep you warm," Eva said.

"It'll make me hot!" Grace shrieked. "I'll melt!"

"Grace, no one's ever melted from wearing an extra coat."

"But what if I do melt?"

Eva sighed; clearly Grace wasn't going to budge on this, at least for now. "All right, all right," she said, folding the coat up. "Go with Daddy to the front door. I'll join you after I get my gloves."

Grace cheered, her previous mood immediately forgotten. As Neil picked their daughter up in his arms, he raised his eyebrows at Eva in confusion. At that, Eva gave a slight half-shrug, then nodded to the coat still in her arms. She would bring it with her for when—not if—Grace realized just how cold it was outside.

Soon enough, Eva had put on her gloves, and she, Neil, and Grace were outside on the front porch. Grace's feet had barely touched the ground before she was running into the snowy front yard with an excited, high-pitched squeal. Eva and Neil watched as she twirled in circles, giggling all the while, then stood with her arms spread out as she beamed happily at the snowflakes falling from the sky.

Slowly, though, Grace lowered her arms, her smile fading. Visibly shivering, she scampered back to where Eva and Neil still stood on the porch.

"Mama, can I have my other coat now?" she asked.

Eva smiled. "Of course you can, Grace."